First Response Blog

If you're looking for a resuscitation training company to work with your practice, it's important to know the questions to ask to ensure you're getting the best quality standards and value for money.

It's also vital that the training you received enables your clinical and non-clinical GP or Dental practice staff to be able to provide the best standards of care in a medical emergency should one ever occur.

Many NHS ambulance services and hospitals now promote the use of ATMIST in patient handover situations, as it facilities a rapid, accurate handover.

It also significantly improves communication with medical practitioners, ambulance crews and emergency departments.

With so many types of defibrillators on the market, I often get asked 'which one should I choose?'. In this article, Clive Haddrell, Managing Director at First Response explores the virtues of shopping around for an AED.

The idea of teaching school children cardio pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and basic life-saving first aid skills in school is not a new concept.

In fact some countries they have been teaching school children these skills for many years and have embraced its importance by incorporating it into the school curriculum.

Learning how to save someone's life should be pretty high up your staff training agenda. But what should you look for when searching for a first aid training provider for your business?

On top of that, how can you be absolutely sure they’re going to give the right standard of training and will be able to engage your team?

It’s unlikely, but if Santa fell down the chimney, he’d want to believe that families the world over would have the right level of first aid skills to be able to help.

Well in England it’s extremely low...

About 8.6% compared to Norway’s 25%. And on top of that worrying fact less than 10% of people in the UK survive a cardiac arrest and about 80% of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur in people's homes (not doctors surgeries, public areas or places of work).

All young children fall ill from time to time, usually from harmless infections that will get better by themselves. But occasionally, symptoms may mean that something more serious may be going on – and you may worry and wonder what to do next. So how can you tell the difference?

Although there is no legal obligation for businesses to provide first aid training to any one employee, there are some industry guidelines worth noting. The Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 require employers to provide adequate and appropriate equipment, facilities and personnel to ensure that an employee who is injured or taken ill at work receives immediate attention.

Being a business first aid trainer and experienced paramedic involves meeting lots of different people, from all walks of life. People with varying levels of first aid knowledge, skills and experience where first aid administration is concerned.

Medical Priority Dispatch System (MPDS) requires the ambulance service call handler to ask you a systematized series of key questions. These questions allow the system to categorize the call by the chief complaint (What is wrong with the patient). The 999 call is then automatically categorized as to the level of response by the ambulance service.

All of the small business first aid trainers at First Response are either practising paramedics, or were paramedics before they joined the training profession. But did you know they also have the same inquisitive qualities as an investigative policeman?

It's evident from the recent pitch-side incident involving the footballer Fabrice Muamba, that the sooner treatment is administered during a medical or trauma emergency the better. In addition, if treated by an expertly trained medical team, the chances of a good recovery are high.

"In the field of training, it's the quality of the trainer that ensures the quality of the training". Our very own Health & Safety Consultant Sadie Watts explains why and how feedback helps us improve products and services.

Whether you are an experienced first aider or not, finding yourself in a situation that requires some first aid to be administered requires you to keep calm and make informed decisions:

At First Response Resuscitation and First Aid Training, we are committed to sharing our knowledge and expertise on all matters of first aid. The topic of seizures is so wide; we thought we’d start by looking at the different types of seizures, and some related first aid advice.

Resuscitation or first aid is probably the last thing on your mind at this time of year, but reluctantly it might end up being the first.

Thanks to the FAST advertising campaign (Face. Arms. Speech. Time), our awareness of the symptoms of a stroke, and understanding the importance of acting quickly has grown.

The quality of life for people that have suffered a stroke has been vastly improved due to quick reactions and immediate treatment.

Experts in first aid have always advised to cover any bleeding wound with a sterile dressing, apply direct pressure and elevate where possible.

This practice has always been widely accepted and aims primarily to stem blood loss through encouraging coagulation at the wound site and also protecting the wound from contamination which may cause infection.

BBC Medical Drama 'Casualty 'it's been 26 years in production and still going strong. How did I get involved? When I was a training officer for the Avon Ambulance Service NHS Trust, the BBC came to see about hiring our ambulances for what we thought was going to be an of episode about a night shift at A & E Department. We thought wrong!